Haven Season 4 Report Card: Grade It!

From our perspective, this is one series that was lucky to come out with a passing grade. The strengths were strong enough to lift it from certain death throes. See if you agree with our assessment and grade it yourself down below...

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Best Episode: Haven Season 4 Episode 1, “Fallout,” wins hands down. The season was still so full of promise. We learned what happened after the barn imploded and Nathan left town. Dwight was the new Sheriff in town and Duke fell into an aquarium and met Jennifer. We met Duke’s brother and Audrey and William were still in the Bar(n), toying with who she was. If only we could go back.

Best Character: Duke. The series could continue in some fashion with Duke Crocker as a lead, that is how dramatically his character progressed and how impressively Eric Balfour worked with the rather dismal material dished out this season. He was the glue that held everything together and the person who knew more about the town and his friends than anyone else. What a pleasant surprise.

Worse Episode: Haven Season 4 Episode 13, "The Lighthouse." Admittedly, I was placing every remaining egg into the finale basket with the hopes Haven could be salvaged and we would be awarded some answers. Instead, there were even more questions, a glimpse of Mara, the death of Jennifer and talk of aliens. For a series known for it's fantastic season finales, this was one of the worst.

Worst New Character: Wade Crocker. What could have been a great story for Duke was destroyed by Wade’s obsessive desire to best his younger brother. The writers really missed out on an opportunity to take their best character and enhance his life with a relative, something he was lacking. At first, it seemed Wade would fill the bill. How low he fell was a massive disappointment.

Best New Character: Jennifer. She was absolutely delightful, and it is not only testament to the charms of Emma Lahana, but her pairing with Eric Balfour as Duke. She hit the jackpot and had the best material to play with during the season.

Most Disappointing Story: Audrey emerging from the Bar(n) as Audrey, only to eventually revert to her “original” self, Mara. I can’t even verbalize the many ways in which this entire fruitless exercise missed the mark. The previously unrequited love between Audrey and Nathan never got it’s appropriate celebration and if that wasn't the point, then she should have come back as a new incarnation and rediscovered Audrey, skipping Mara completely.

William: He gets his own category because there were so many other reasons for him to come to Haven. He could have been the new Agent Howard. We could have learned exactly WHAT an Agent did, and why. Why children from OVER THERE are dropped in Haven and placed for adoption. The hanging threads just left us with an unwearable garment; a couple of sleeves and no body to form a full sweater. Why didn't they find a better use for the amazing Colin Ferguson?

Worst Death: All of them. They were all so unnecessary. Wade and Jordan could have found reasons to live and fight for a good life in Haven. Jennifer dying for viewers to learn absolutely nothing (even if the show comes back and she doesn't stick), is just sad. Nobody needed to die because there were so many untapped, incredible stories waiting to be told.

Grade: C This score is for Duke, Jennifer and Dwight. Poor Audrey and Nathan became window dressings in a series that once focused on them as the main characters. To say the show lost its direction is an understatement.

Hopes for 2014: That the show is renewed, we start in the BARN, Bobby Ewing style, and the entire season gets a do-over. William falling through the hole resets everything and they read up on some of the stories that make more sense. Gimme a call. I have some friends who can lend a helping hand. I have my ringer on.

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CM•January 08, 2014 03:10

It's like they wanted the show to have a "big bad", likely because they thought it needed one. And in doing so, the season revolves all around William, a new character that we're not supposed to like. Well guess what? The showrunners concentrated so much on the William angle, they paid much less attention to the characters the fan DO like. And all of a sudden you have the story being more important than the characters.

Kate•January 07, 2014 10:25

In retrospect, I think the think that drove me most nuts about the season is that it seems like they were set up to fail from the beginning. The town can't effectively deal with the troubles without Audrey. Once they get Audrey back, William slips through and stirs things up. They deal with William just as quickly as they can and Mara still comes back. At what point could they have turned things around?

RENEE•January 06, 2014 09:31

Last season I couldn't wait it had me on my seat. But this season the story line with William and Audrey got super boring and the finale I waited because I thought it was going to be like...Wow...yet it wasn't good at all why bring William back with the whole base of the show to SEND him back. Now Audrey is crazy evil...sad finale...

ean•January 06, 2014 08:22

The biggest surprise of this season for me was Jen ~ love her! Such a cutie ~ I hope she will be back too! She and Duke are so adorable together. My fave character is and always will be Nathan but I'm not so keen on his other half ~ Audrey can get pretty annoying. Don't care for Lexie or Mara.Wade and William BOTH just ugh. And I agree this season finale was such a letdown after a pretty good season. Still deserves a Season 5 though.

JJA•January 06, 2014 05:03

I agree that season 4 was relatively weak compared to seasons 1-3. HOWEVER, I really do thing the two-part finale pulled it all together, and set-up a great cliffhanger for season 5. Also, I doubt Jennifer is actually dead. Or, if she is dead, she'll come back from the dead in the season premier.

CM•January 04, 2014 19:06

I have to agree that this season, or more specifically, William / Mara and the ENTIRE explanation given for the Troubles, need a complete and total do over. The Troubles don't need to be explained (this is the major failing of S4). If fact by trying to explain them using Aliens TPTB truly pulled the rug out from under their own show. I could care less that William and Mara were spoiled Alien brats out on a joyride. The William character - the further away he is from this show(for good) the better. His character was this show's Daniel Shaw. The Lexi / Audrey / Mara character - used to be interesting and fun. In S4 NOT. This character needs a total makeover in order to become interesting and engaging again. I simply don't care about this incarnation. Nathan - There's nothing to say about a character that basically didn't exist in S4. Thank God for Duke and Jennifer. Their storyline was the highlight of the season. I'm not convinced I'm tuning in if their is another season.

RENEE@ CM•January 06, 2014 09:35

I agree Duke and Jennifer saved the show in S4. Maybe a new rug can be put in place. It's a great show .....

Kate•January 04, 2014 18:11

If Jennifer actually dies, can I riot? I absolutely agree with much of your analysis. Not enough forward momentum for Haven and far too many threads were dropped along the way. Where we part is the fact that Duke and Jennifer both together and separately pulled the show above average for me. I'd love to see Jennifer pull through, either because Mara needs her or because due to her other-worldly origins she's able to heal herself.